Function:

The P99K Light Blaster Gun is a light gun for both the PSX and the PS2. It supports both 'PSX-style' light gun games (anyone remember any of these? . . . thought not) and GunCon-style games (anything Namco, Elemental Gearbolt, pretty much any light gun game in recent memory). Besides the standard light gun abilities, the P99K offers a few handy enhancements. You can turn on autofire, auto-reload, or a combination of the two. You can also set the autofire speed to be fast or slow, which is important depending on the game that you're playing. And -- my personal favourite feature of the P99K -- it comes with a 'reload pedal' which makes playing Time Crisis that little bit cooler.

The P99K also features recoil action, which you can turn on or off by a well-hidden switch that's impossible to hit in the middle of a game.

Performance:

As a light gun, the P99K is quite accurate -- it seemed to be a tad off at the edges of the screens, but I've had similar problems with my GunCons, and those guns are the best you can buy. It's probably more of an artifact of my aging television than any flaw of the gun itself. So, if you want to use it as a straight light gun, it's pretty much equivalent to the best there is.

It's when you get into the added features that the P99K seems to both shine and falter. For example, the foot pedal for reloads is fantastic, and made Time Crisis fun all over again for me. It made the game feel more arcade-style, and less like something I'm playing at home. This is a Good Thing.

But then you get to the recoil action. While it's cool, it's also very loud, and downright dangerous. The makers of the gun didn't put a plastic cap at the end of the gun where the recoil occurs, so there are some quite sharp plastic edges that jut out every time you fire. I almost cut my finger once, and damn near poked my eye out when I was lining a shot up in Point Blank. Legislation aside, kids are going to want to play with these guns and play with the recoil function on (cause it's 'cool'), and they can get hurt with it. This is a Bad Thing.

Another Bad Thing is the vastly sub-par instruction manual. If you already own a GunCon and know how to hook it up, there's no need, but the instructions for connecting the controller to the PSX are blatantly wrong. They're missing a few essential steps, and it would be frustrating for the first-time user that couldn't get it to work, especially those not used to seeing RCA-style plugs.

There are a few strictly mediocre issues with the P99K as well. The grip that looks rubberized is actually the same molded plastic as the rest of the gun, and can get uncomfortable with extended play. And deciphering how to use all the switches on the gun can be a hassle. These are certainly not usage-killers, though.

Features:

Toggleable recoil action

Autofire and autoreload capabilities

Solid accuracy

Reload pedal (cool!)

Unrealistic colours to make politicians happy

Drawbacks & Problems::

The recoil action can be dangerous if you don't remember that it's on, or get your hands too close to the flying plastic. The instruction manual is sub-par at best, and downright aggravating at worst. Otherwise, the gun is either right about standard or better than average, especially when it comes to features -- it's got lots of them. They're non-trivial to discern, though. The instructions even have specific step-by-step rules to get Time Crisis working well with the gun's added features.

Logic 3's P99K Light Blaster Gun is a solid product, but one you should definitely keep away from the kids. The rather dangerous recoil action, combined with the weak instruction booklet, make for a gun best left to the enthusiasts. Those who want a safer product would do well to buy one of the GunCon-plus-game bundles; those who just want a solid gun with quite a few features should definitely check into the P99K.